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South Nassau in the Community

06/25/2014

Radiation Oncology Department Awarded Prestigious Accreditation

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has renewed its three-year term of accreditation of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s Radiation Oncology Department. The ACR seal of accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety in radiation therapy.

The prestigious ACR accreditation is awarded only to facilities that prove during a rigorous peer-review evaluation that they meet specific Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards developed by the ACR. Patient care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed during the evaluation, which is conducted by board-certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists who are experts in the field. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous improvement.

“The renewal of ACR accreditation is validation to our patients, referring physicians and managed care organizations that providing the highest quality care is an enduring mission at South Nassau," said Edward Mullen, MD, director of radiation oncology and co-medical director of the Long Island Gamma Knife® at South Nassau. “The review process is thorough and rigorous, including detailed appraisals of our practice facilities, equipment, policies, procedures, staff and clinical treatment methods.”

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

South Nassau’s Radiation Oncology Department is the only one on Long Island equipped with the Varian Novalis Tx™ and the Gamma Knife® Perfexion radio surgery technologies. The Novalis Tx is the medical industry’s most powerful radiation therapy technology and performs precise, image-guided treatments in a matter of minutes without needing to make a single incision. The Gamma Knife is a powerful radiosurgery tool that is the treatment of choice for deep-seated brain abnormalities, including tumors that would otherwise be considered inoperable.

As part of its advanced diagnostic and radiation oncology technologies and treatments, the department also includes South Nassau’s Center for Prostate Health (which is based in Oceanside). In addition to prostate brachytherapy, radiosurgery using the Novalis Tx, external beam radiation, hormone therapy and watchful waiting, the center also offers minimally-invasive, robotic assisted prostate cancer surgery performed by skilled surgeons who use the revolutionary da Vinci robotic surgical system. The center also provides comprehensive education and counseling for patients and their primary physicians in prostate cancer treatment.

To schedule a consultation or for more information about South Nassau’s Radiation Oncology Department or Cancer Program, call 516-632-3370, or visit southnassau.org.